The Seventh Element: Friendship Is Forever
by Justaboredpersonlol
Summary: Brandon Ashford, a young human found in the Everfree by a mare named Sun Shine, has grown up with difficulties, being the strangest thing in Equestria. When he returns to Equestria at the age of 17, he finds out things have changed and his adoptive mother is nowhere to be found. He has to unite with the Elements of Harmony and his old friend in order to save her.
1. Loner

****OKAY. Guys, I am so sorry for this damn long absence. Things have been happening, but Ive gotten better. I've also gotten more time to think of a better storyline. I don't know if you noticed, but I actually went along with my previous stories as I went. I didn't really plan it out. But, with this one, I did. And I kind of like it. I will still keep the same cast of characters. The BrandonxFluttershy thing will most likely stay the same, seeing as how I even d'awwed over it from time to time. From now on, this story and my previous ones are COMPLETELY seperate. This is a completely new start, okay? Okay! I will be posting at least once a week. Maybe twice. I'm a busy person now with summer school and all... And also, I will be deleting my unfinished story. So, right now, this is new. Starting right...now!****

Brandon walked into the classroom with a frown on his face. _I hate school, _was one of the first thoughts to enter his mind. He had just turned eight and was the strangest thing in Ponyville. He wasn't like the other ponies. Not one bit. _I don't see why I have to come here. None of the other kids like me...why did mom make me come here? _His thoughts were interrupted by the chipper demeanor of the teacher, Ms. Sunny Day. She was a colorful mare. Her eyes were a certain shining emerald color, and her mane was in a nice pink ponytail, which went well with her yellow coat. "Brandon! Welcome to class! Did you have a nice birthday?"

Brandon didn't know how to answer, considering it wasn't really his birthday, just the anniversary of his 'mom' and 'dad' finding him in the Everfree forest six years ago. For some reason, they didn't care Brandon was a human. The adults didn't, either. But the children did. They hated him. He simply looked over himself with his light blue eyes. Then started playing with his blond hair, which parted in the middle, and covered his ears. "Ummm..." Was all he could say before awkwardly mumbling. Ms. Day still kept her shining smile beamed on Brandon. "That's a very nice coat you have! Did your mother get that for you for your birthday?" "Y-Yes," he nodded and looked down at the green trench coat his mom had asked a friend to make for him. "It...uhh, keeps me warm." "Well, it looks very nice on-" "Teacher!" A foal called out from his desk with his hoof up, "I have a question!" "Yes?" She asked with a polite tone. "Why does he have to wear so many clothes?" The teacher's smile immediately disappeared as she walked Brandon to his seat, "We've been over this. Brandon doesn't have a coat like ponies do, so he needs to wear clothes to keep warm."

"But-" The foal called out again. "That's enough!" She snapped to him. "Now, I'm tired of you all teasing Brandon every day. He can't help it if he's-" "A freak!" A lone filly called out from her desk. "Stop that!" Ms. Day yelled to no one in particular. It was loud enough for Brandon, he overheard the whole thing. "She's right, though..." He said, sniffling. "No, she's not," Teacher reassured him. Almost immediately, he stood up from his seat and ran out the door, "It's all true!" Brandon yelled with a shaking voice. He didn't know where he was running, he just knew he had to run away somewhere safe. Maybe somewhere somepony would befriend him.


	2. The perfect meeting

"Don't worry, Fluttershy!" Rainbow Dash called out to her friend reassuringly. "After I win this race, those jerks will lay off of you for sure!" The shy pegasus slowly walked with her, "O-Okay," she mumbled, "If you say so..." "I know so! Don't be so negative. Sometimes a pony needs to be put in their place!" RD said with a big grin, most likely visualizing her future victory. Fluttershy sighed as Rainbow Dash finished her sentence, "Well, can I at least help? At all? I...I want to prove I'm not completely useless..." She mumbled again, remembering the horrible torment she went through earlier. "Fine!" Rainbow yelled happily, "You can handle the flag! Every great racer needs a great flag bearer! Where would the Wonderbolts be if their flags weren't swung quite right? I'll tell you where! Half would start and the other half wouldn't! It definitely wouldn't be as awesome."

Fluttershy sighed again, "The flag?...Um...okay." "That's the spirit! Now, come on! The race is starting!"

The three ponies lined up at the starting line, ready to go. "Ready, racers!" Fluttershy called out to them on her lone cloud. "Three...two...one...GO!" She yelled as she swung the flag to the best of her ability, but by the time she looked up, her hooves had slipped off the cloud. _I'm falling!_ Was all she could think as Cloudsdale suddenly got farther and farther away. "H-Help!" She screamed, knowing it was futile, but didn't know what else to do. Her wings weren't strong enough to catch herself, and she had already broken through all the clouds. The ground got closer and closer and she closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact, and thinking of her last thoughts.

_Mom, dad, I love you all so much! I'm so so so so so so sorry! I'll be watching over all of you! If I just had one more chance, I'd try my best to be strong! Please, Celestia, don't take me just yet!_

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sudden softness and light fluttering of wings. _What happened? _The young filly thought to herself as she was gracefully put on the ground. She looked around to see a horde of butterflies had broken her fall. The filly looked around and saw so many wonders. Bunnies, chipmunks, and different colors of flowers and butterflies. Without even realizing it, she began to sing.

"_What is this place, filled with so many wonders?  
Casting this spell that I am now under!  
Squirrels in the trees and the cute little bunnies-!"_

"Hello?" A young voice spoke from behind a tree, making the yellow pegasus yelp and immediately curl into a small little ball. "I'm not going to hurt you...I didn't think anypony else came here." The voice got closer, now revealing Brandon to the young pegasus filly. "Oh my goodness...I didn't know any other creatures could talk." Fluttershy spoke to him, still not over the many wonders of the surface, "What are you?" Brandon frowned at the question and slumped against the tree, "I...I don't know. I keep trying to find answers, but nopony knows." The filly felt bad for the strange new being, and tried to give him a heartfelt smile, "So...you live here? It must be so wonderful to be with all of these animals!" "No," he replied, looking at her oddly, "I live in Ponyville...with my mom. I used to have a dad, but, he..." Brandon shook his head as he processed her earlier statement. "No! It's not wonderful! I hate it! Nopony likes me!" Brandon looked down sadly, remembering his father, but then realizing he had been saying too much to a complete stranger. "I'm, uh, Brandon, by the way." "You're a Brandon?" "N-No, my name is Brandon," he said to her, with another confused look, "My parents found me in the Everfree with a birth certificate...so, that's why my name's like that..." Fluttershy stood up in front of Brandon. Normally she'd be a bit calmer around somepony...er, someone else, but she was too excited by her recent discovery. "I'm Fluttershy!"

Brandon smiled at her, "It's nice to meet you, Fluttershy!...Where did you come from?" "I came from Cloudsdale. My friend challenged these two bullies to a race and...ended up knocking me off the cloud...the butterflies broke my fall, though!" "That's good." Brandon said and relaxed slightly, now comforted by her kind demeanor. "Tell me, are there more animals in Ponyville?" Fluttershy asked with one eye covered by her pink mane. "Uhh...yes. Dogs and cats, though," Brandon answered, "Maybe a few chickens." "Can we go?" Fluttershy asked him with a huge, hopeful smile. "Sure...but, what about Cloudsdale?"

Fluttershy looked up at her cloud home, then immediately back to Brandon. "We won't be long! It'll only take a second..right?"

"Right..." Brandon told her, "Hey..." he was about to say, but the next second he was interrupted by a loud boom and what looked like a rainbow streaking across the sky and devouring the clouds.

"Wow! What is that?" Brandon asked with a large smile.

"I don't know..." Fluttershy said in return, smiling. "Oh no! The animals are scared! Could you help me?"

"Uh...s-sure!"


	3. The Beginning of Harmony

The two shared their experiences with bullies and other unpleasantry through their few hours together. They managed to share every funny birthday experience and every odd experience with a friend or relative. It was like they were best friends since birth. Sadly, Fluttershy had to leave that afternoon they had met. But just about every day at around that time, the two would meet in the park and they would talk and chatter on about nothing important, but to each of them, it was the best part of their day.

Brandon sat in his usual spot, while waiting for Fluttershy to hover down and meet. Though, the filly was one step ahead of him. She crept behind the tree he usually sat on and giggled when he yelped. "Gotcha!" She half-shouted as she poked him in the ribs with her hoof. "Yeah, yeah, you got me," Brandon laughed as Fluttershy enjoyed her victory. After catching her breath, she looked at him with her same eye covered, "What are we going to do today? You said you had a special surprise!" "Oh, yeah! Somepony by the name of Carrot Cake opened a bakery up last week! I wanted to wait for you...so we could try it! Together!" He seemed a little meek at that last part, but Fluttershy shrugged it off. After round after round of the baker's teasing, the two had a great time at the bakery. Sadly, that would be the last day they saw each other until eight years later, by the hands of fate, and the hooves of the Queen. For this tale, was long predestined, since the beginning of Harmony.

"Fluttershy!" A small, southern voice shouted from outside the cottage, "Elizabeak went missin again!"

"WHAT?" Was all that was shouted in return, followed by the fluttering of wings out a window and an immediate direction into the Everfree.

"We tried being Cutie Mark Crusader Chicken Farmers...again," Sweetie Belle explained with closed eyes, not yet realizing Fluttershy had left. "But...the darn hen got away!" Scootaloo finished, trying her best to give an innocent smile. "Yer not mad...are ya?" Applebloom asked at the cottage. "Well?"

No reply.

"Um...Fluttershy?"

The shy Pegasus had already walked through the forest, keeping an eye out. "Oh, my goodness. Elizabeak! Elizabeak! Tch, tch, tch!" She called out to the random directions of the forest. "Hello?"

A twig snapped from behind her, causing the mare to squeak. "Elizabeak?" She whispered, moving cautiously toward the source of the sound. The sound grew louder, until a growl emerged from the nearby bushes.

"Oh no..."


	4. A Journey Home

"You're sure this is the place?" Brandon looked over to his companion, who had her nose buried in a book as always. "Yes...that dimensional gate," the snow-white haired woman replied. Her light blue gown was turned into a darkish color as the desert sand struck against it. "Tell me, Brandon, why in the world have you been searching for this? It's just some ancient myth." "Well, all myths have a certain truth to it, Finola." Brandon looked toward her with a smile. "Besides, I have...well, a friend or two I need to see."

Finola smiled, scrubbing dust and sand out from the one bow tied in her hair, keeping the strands out of her face. "You honestly believe you lived through all of that? Talking horses, unicorns, where there's no death or anything?" "There's no such thing as a world without death, Finny, but keep in mind, I was only a kid. When you're a child, you don't perceive the true nature of death. It's not really a goodbye. But..." Brandon smiled as he remembered those days he would sneak out of school to talk to his friend, Fluttershy. His most recent memory was "Yeah. Of course I did. Besides, if you didn't believe me, you wouldn't have come along."

"You know me too well," Finola sighed and snapped her book shut, "But, think about it. A lot could have changed in those years. Just as things have changed for you." Brandon ignored his long-time friend, and gazed upon the ruins in front of him. "Some say this place was constructed at the beginning of time...as a way to connect every world together, in one little string of chance." Finola sighed, and walked past Brandon, still caught in a daydream. "Then again, there's really no evidence at all this Gate exists, much less that it actually works..."

Brandon grinned, and continued his trek onward, into the temple. It was there, Brandon would find the key to the place he considered home, and perhaps the answer to his existence.


End file.
